Character Creator Demo & Benchmark Details

So, Sakai promised details about the character creation demo and the benchmarking test and he delivered!

Even provided us with a trailer of the demo..

The Download

The creator and bench test will be a 450MB download. Just unzip it and click on the cute Rappy to run it. He didn’t say exactly where it would be made available.

After you press enter on the title screen, a demo plays. A demo within the demo. Demoception.

The Character Creator

To summarise the major points:

The creator works entirely offline

The creation options will be the same as are present in the closed beta tests

You can save characters created with the demo

You can use saved characters in the closed beta

The demo has print-screen functionality but it only saves as JPG (full game supports PNG and BMP)

There is no non-disclosure agreement, so share the shots to your heart’s content

The creator does not include character voices or the choice between running/hovering for Casts.

The data for saved characters is stored in MY DOCUMENTS\SEGA\PHANTASYSTARONLINE2.

You cannot load a character that is a different race/sex/class combo than the character you are currently editing.

This demo will be available to everyone on April 5th, not just those who applied to the tests.

The new "creator data" menus, allowing you save and load characters.

I’m actually very happy that they’ve gone and done something like this, it’s not at all what I expected from them. Can’t wait to get my hands on it, as I didn’t really get to play with the creator much during the 2nd Alpha. This was mostly because the time period for the tests was so limited I felt pressured to get into the game as quickly as possible. Also, people, make those freaks! I want to see monstrosities!

Benchmark

The benchmark itself will be running a simulation of the game of sorts. You’ll see characters wandering about the new city area, with your own character replacing the default HUmar if you created one. At the end, you’ll be given a score based on how well your computer did. Want to boast about your HOOGE NUMBERS? Well you better know what those numbers mean! Well, aside that bigger is better.

Yes, it IS a competition. Why would you think otherwise?

0-2000 – Oh dear, your computer is struggling a bit. You may want to hide that inadequate number in shame. Lower your in-game settings to help give you a smoother experience

2000-5000 – Hey, you’re good enough for the game! Are you good enough for the judgemental eyes of the internet? Dare you brave it and find out? If you’re in the lower region of this score range you may want to lower some settings still.

5000-99998 – Your PC is more than good enough to run PSO2, but more importantly it’s time to slam that e-cock on the forums and watch them quake.

99999 – Well look at you.

Towards the Future

More news tomorrow, it would seem! Sakai will be discussing details of new features in the upcoming closed beta tests. That really is it, no more detail than that.